“They are,” Seth assured. Thought for a moment. Then added, “As are you.”
Nina turned to him, almost surprised, before smiling at him.
They reached Jae and Anya within minutes.
Upon seeing them, Seth nearly burst into laughter. Jae was wearing one of the four outfit choices he’d shown Seth - a plaid cardigan over a plain white shirt, paired with denim jeans.
And he matched perfectly with Anya, who was wearing a pair of plaid trousers within the same grey colour scheme with a black turtleneck shirt.
Seth wished he could take a picture of the moment.
Reaching Jae, they exchanged a little hybrid handshake-high-five and gave Anya a warm smile. Then, moving aside, he allowed Nina to step forward. She was wringing her fingers together, her shoulders slightly hunched, but her smile was wide.
“Hi,” she said, and he could feel the nervousness in her tone.
“This is Nina,” Seth introduced, pointing at Nina, “She’s my - uh - my old classmate and good friend. And this is Jae and Anya.”
Heat began to lick up his forearms, and he got the sudden desire to rip off his skin and run away from this entire situation. Jae seemed to sense Seth’s awkwardness, and stepped forward, with his classic Jae smile.
“Nina! It’s so great to finally meet you,” he said, “I’ve heard so many good things about you from Seth.”
Seth froze at that, wanting nothing more than to kick Jae into absolute oblivion.
Yet, Jae had a hidden superpower, an uncanny ability to soothe any awkward situation with that charming vibe of his. He wouldn’t ever admit it to his face, but Seth was so grateful for him. He stepped forward, offering Nina a hug that should’ve been strange since it was their first time meeting, yet it looked alltoo natural as Nina took it. Seth noticed that her shoulders were no longer tense.
“Wow, it’s so nice to meet you too,” Nina replied, eyes fixated on Jae, “Seth just loves talking about you to bits.”
Jae turned to Seth, a smirk on his face, to which he rolled his eyes.
“She’s lying, obviously.”
Anya stepped forward, her lips pursed into the smallest of smiles. Nina waved, and Seth could tell she was a little uncertain of whether she was a hugger, like Jae. Unlike him, Anya didn’t warm up instantly to others, unless there was a click, and Jae was an example of that. The two of them had gotten along immediately, yet with Seth, it’d taken a few weeks to totally surpass the politeness of an interaction and fall into natural friendliness.
Seth could tell, however, that Anya was at ease. More at ease than he’d seen her with others, even with him when they first met. He let his gaze settle on Nina’s smile.
Of course. How could you avoid warmth, when you stood before the sun?
“So where do we want to eat?” Jae asked, clapping his hands together. “Personally, I’m craving some Japanese, and wow, why don’t you look at that. We are standing just a few mere steps away from a Japanese restaurant.”
And so it was, they were standing in front of DOPA, one of the popular Japanese restaurants here in Haymarket, Sydney.
At that, Seth shot him a look, caught between amused and unimpressed. Jae held up his hands in mock surrender.
“I am just saying.”
“I don’t mind Japanese,” Nina chimed in, “I can honestly eat anything.”
Jae raised a brow at Seth and Anya, arms out.
“Well…we’ve got two for Japanese. Any protests?”
Seth resisted the urge to protest just because it was Jae. Anya, on the other hand, was smiling at Jae, in her own little way. It seemed like Japanese was the go.
Seth motioned down the path, looking at Jae.
“Well, lead the way.”
Seth had to hand it to him. The cuisine at the restaurant looked and smelled delicious. Luckily they’d arrived just before the lunch rush began. The four of them were all squished into the corner table, barely enough space for all of them. Seth sat against the wall, pressing himself right against it, to make sure that Nina was comfortable.
